


Another New Beginning

by wonderlandiscrumbling



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post Season Four
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 14:15:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15887703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderlandiscrumbling/pseuds/wonderlandiscrumbling
Summary: Oswald finds Ed curled up sleeping on a beat-up couch in an alley, it's really the last place he thought he'd find the infamous Riddler.





	Another New Beginning

It’s a twenty-six-minute drive until they come across him. Oswald orders for Zsasz to stop the car. He pulls up to the curb and Oswald gets out of the car, he slams the door shut behind him and begins his way down the short run of an alleyway, eyes set on his goal. 

There’s a beat-up sofa sat in the center of the alley, upon its small ripped dirty surface lays Ed. He’s still for some unfathomable reason wearing those hideously green dress pants, the same white dress shirt, and black vest; his hair is now longer, nearly black in color and falling over his sallow face. Oswald sighs as he looks down at him, he thinks about how Ed used to be back before a lot of things; he tries to pinpoint the exact moment that lead to this and he knows to a degree he is at fault for this.

Oswald leans down, he grabs Ed’s shoulder and gives him a firm shake. “Ed, wake up.” He orders.

Ed groans, smacks at him then curls in upon himself further, his ridiculously long legs hardly fit on the couch, his left shoe falls off thudding on the concrete. Oswald gives him another shake and this time Ed opens his eyes, he groggily stares up at him and begins rubbing at his eyes with the back of his dirtied hand.

“What are you doing here?” He asks, his voice is hoarse as if this were the first time he’s spoken for awhile now.

“Get in the car Ed.” 

He watches as his friend pulls himself into a sitting position, stretching and wincing in pain surely his back and neck are sore from sleeping on the wreck of a sofa. 

“Why?”

Oswald grabs hold of his forearm and tugs, he’s a bit surprised when Ed doesn’t resist but gets up from the couch. He stumbles when he gets to his feet, falls against the smaller man. Oswald wraps an arm around his waist and allows him to lean against him. There’re no words spoken between them as Oswald leads him to the waiting car, Zsasz watches them curiously, more than likely wondering just why his boss wants to take home the man who screwed him over on multiple occasions.

He opens the door and ushers Ed into the vehicle, watches as he awkwardly climbs inside and leans back against the opposite door. His eyes are wary and trained on Oswald who climbs in after him closing the door behind him. He tells Zsasz to take them home then turns his attention back to Ed who is still watching him as if utterly lost.

“Why are you taking me to your place?” Ed asks.

“You smell like death, no offense.” He says smiling.

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Oswald sighs, he moves closer to his friend, feels a bit offended when Ed presses his back more firmly against the door as if scared to be near him. 

“You’ve been wandering around the city like a zombie for three months now, I had assumed that being…. Well you that you’d get your shit together, go back to screwing me over or killing women you think are pretty, whatever it is you do.” There’s a bitter spite in his words as he speaks, and he hates himself the slightest bit for it.

Ed doesn’t seem offended by the comments, he just averts his gaze and wraps an arm around himself as if realizing he can’t argue with the accusation. Sometimes Oswald feels that his friend scares himself.

“Yet all you’ve been doing is sleeping on couches and eating food out of dumpsters, it’s rather depressing if I’m being honest, and…..I miss having you around.”

Again, Ed looks at him, regards him with caution. Oswald wants to tell him that he can’t explain just why that is, why he misses somebody who has caused him constant pain both physically and emotionally, but he does. Even now sitting just a few inches away from him he feels like he misses him, because yet again this does not feel like Ed. This is somebody new, a shell of every part of him he’s known in the past.

“How lonely are you that you miss me?”

Oswald smirks, he places a hand on his knee. “Quite lonely, but too busy to really have the time to notice it until lately. You don’t have to stay of course, you can shower, get clean and less hideous clothes, a meal, and then leave. I’m not forcing you to be my friend or anything more.” 

He can’t help but think about what they could have had, how he felt for days and weeks that there was an undeniable romantic connection between them. A spark, a fire that connected them deeply. Even now he feels it, just touching his knee and brushing his fingers against a fabric that’s tacky in color, but smooth in fabric is making him feel those things all over again. He wants to ask him if he feels it, if he ever felt it, but he’s scared. He can’t help but think of every moment Ed taunted him for his affections, used them to get what he wants.

Ed places a hand on top of his, Oswald looks down at his hand taking note of how dirty his skin looks, dirt and blood coating his fingers. 

“I’m sorry.” He whispers, he clears his throat and there’s a nervous silence. “I…The bank, I’m sorry that I did that to you. It wasn’t right.” 

Oswald sighs, he was livid when that had happened; he’d felt like such a moron thinking that Ed could be honest with him after what they’d gone through. He thinks about Riddler, thinks about how the man offered him an olive branch and a part of him realizes now that it was never genuine. He’d used him to get what he wanted, there was no love or compassion. He looks at Ed now, he’s different.

“Do you mean that?”

Ed nods. “I do. You were always good to me Oswald, I’m so sorry.” His voice cracks, tears welling up in his eyes. He opens his mouth to speak again, but the words come out as a choked sob. 

Seeing him like this is something that Oswald isn’t entirely accustomed to, it’s terrifying and painful. 

“Shh it’s okay, we’re going to start new.” He gently assures him, he brushes the tears from his cheeks. 

Ed looks at him confused by his kindness, but more than welcome to it. He moves to curl himself up against the older man’s side, Oswald wraps an arm around his waist holding him close against him. Ed hides his face against the side of his neck, his fingers curl in against his jacket and he lets himself cry. Oswald simply holds him, rubs a hand along his side and lets him cry as much as he needs to. He can’t remember seeing Ed cry that many times in the past and he knows this is a culmination of so much. He hopes that this is the start of something new, a new beginning where their other beginnings and endings no longer hold threat and meaning.


End file.
